Dell XPS Googlebook Review: Sleek, Powerful Android Companion Laptop Held Back by Buggy OS and Battery Life

Dell's XPS Googlebook is one of the most polished laptops built for Google's new Googlebook operating system, offering strong performance and a premium design. But reviewers say its software still has rough edges, and its real-world battery life falls well short of the company's claims.

The laptop, which starts at $1,199 but has been offered for $999 at Best Buy, is Dell's first machine built for Gemini Intelligence and designed to work closely with Android phones.

A new kind of Google laptop

Googlebooks are a new category of laptops running Googlebook OS, which is distinct from Google's ChromeOS. Five models launched in the first wave from Acer, Dell, HP, Asus and Lenovo, ranging in price from $899 to $1,299.

The laptops are designed to sync tightly with Android phones, similar to how Apple's MacBooks work with iPhones.

Premium design

Reviewers have praised the XPS Googlebook's design. It weighs just 2.2 pounds and is about half an inch thick, making it the thinnest and smallest of the first batch of Googlebooks.

It features a 13.4-inch 2.5K touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate and very thin bezels. Several reviewers said it looks so much like a standard Dell XPS 13 that they might not have known it ran Google software.

Tom's Guide reviewer Dave LeClair gave the laptop four out of five stars, saying: "Hardware-wise, it's a pure winner."

Strong performance

The XPS Googlebook runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processor with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage.

In Tom's Guide's Geekbench 6 tests, it scored 2,997 on single-core and 14,724 on multi-core performance, well ahead of the Acer Googlebook 14, which scored 2,465 and 9,960. Apple's MacBook Air with the M5 chip scored higher but costs about $300 more.

The reviewer said the laptop never slowed down during everyday work, graphic design or light gaming, and it stayed cool throughout.

Display

The LCD display measured 408 nits of brightness in lab testing and showed accurate colors. However, it does not support HDR, and it lacks the OLED screens found on some rival Googlebooks. Unlike the Acer model, it is not a 2-in-1 convertible.

Android integration

The laptop's biggest selling point is its integration with Android phones. Users can set up the laptop with their phone, sync apps, contacts and calendars, and stream phone apps to the laptop, similar to Apple's iPhone mirroring.

Google's AI features include Magic Pointer, which brings up a search box when users wiggle the cursor, working like Circle to Search on Android phones. Rambler turns stream-of-consciousness speech into organized text, and Create My Widget lets users build simple apps by describing them to Gemini.

Reviewers said these features worked as advertised, though some questioned how often they would use them.

Battery falls short

Battery life was the biggest disappointment. Dell claims up to 16 hours of Netflix streaming, and Google advertises up to 18 hours of web browsing.

But in Tom's Guide's testing, the laptop lasted 10 hours and 4 minutes, about 21 minutes less than the Acer Googlebook 14 and more than five hours behind the MacBook Air's 15 hours and 28 minutes.

Google's fine print notes that battery life is based on controlled web browsing tests and that actual results may vary.

Buggy software

Reviewers also noted that Googlebook OS is still a work in progress. Problems included apps streamed from the phone not scaling correctly and occasional crashes, though Tom's Guide said it experienced fewer bugs than expected.

Many Android apps are still mobile versions scaled up for larger screens, rather than full desktop software.

Who should buy it

Reviewers said the XPS Googlebook is best suited for longtime Android users who want the kind of seamless phone-and-laptop experience Apple offers its customers.

iPhone users with no plans to switch to Android may be better served by a MacBook, since most of the laptop's cross-device features are designed for Android phones.

The verdict

The Dell XPS Googlebook delivers premium hardware and strong performance at a competitive price, making it one of the most appealing early Googlebooks. But its software is still maturing, and its battery life may give buyers pause.

Reviewers said that as Google refines Googlebook OS, laptops like this could become serious competitors to Apple and Microsoft.